BRD vs Caster

[Rydia13]

I'm trying to ask since apparently people know how to play casters/BLM better than I do in Wolves' Den / Frontlines.

But how is a BLM supposed to not get wrecked by a bard / melee dps?

Sleep and Blizzard help. Also that ability that reduces skill recast by 50% is great so cap that. Cap Purify, and also Equanimity. If Equanimity isn't up, just run out of range from them, most of the time they will stop following u quickly so you can come back and then get rid of em.

Also while some may disagree, I tend to pick off DPS, namely Melee while the rest of the PT goes for healers, depending on how many healers they've got. It helps two ways. It gives the healers yet another target to have to heal, so they have to choose, and also it gets rid of DPS to have less hitting your healer.

[Skeet]

It's a fair trade-off in my mind. BLM and SMN bursts damage are op as hell if left alone. If your alliance is letting one of them free cast, then there's something wrong with that group. BRD's keep them in check while still damaging. It piles up and can easily irritate any casters with Equanimity in cooldown. Ruin II and Scathe aren't as good as a BRD with all his skills available.

[Buff_Archer]

Even though Bard is my main with PVE, for PVE I enjoy SMN the most (but usually have to swap to SCH because of a shortage of healers). As a SMN/SCH in Frontlines I love going up against Bards, they make the best suicide bombs!

[NorthernLadMSP]

I also really enjoy summoner in Frontlines. I have more instant cast abilities than blm, so I can run a lot more often and use Ruin II, Energy Drain, Fester if DOTS are up, and Bio. Plus, the pet keeps attacking even while I'm on the move. Plus, with the lack of sleep and Flare, I'm less of a target than black mages are.

The pet is the only thing that can get annoying. Garuda just loves to follow my target even if they run away. Even pressing heel, she'll come back and heel for a bit, but then fly away again. So, just be prepared to Swift/re-summon her often.

[Copestetic]

I've yet to have issues with Bards in FL. They're annoying, but Sleep usually fixes that most of the time or, Sure/Swift a Stoneskin. Since their damage is pretty low, it gives me a few seconds to free cast as long as I'm not getting hit by others.

[Geobryn]

and scathe is not more powerful than an arrow (100 dmg potency vs heavy shot 150 dmg potency).

and i thought that brd's 60 potency is less then scathes 100
hint: just stay at meele range :P

[MetaRed]

I don't really think there is much of an imbalance to be honest. As a poster previously stated the PVP game is reliant on teamwork to a degree, tanks and melee DPS can stun or peel marks off a healer or caster which is important to let others do their jobs in PVP.

I usually roll blm for frontlines mostly and switch to whm occasionally. BRDs are annoying and I avoid them and try to focus them down if there is no healer to attack, but I feel I have plenty of tools to deal with them. Scathe, phantom dart aetherial burst, equanimity, manawall, swift cast, and aetherial manipulation are all valuable tools if used properly. I think the blm has plenty of tools to allow you to focus a bard down quickly or to get a spell out or quickly move away to break sight with them.

[NorthernLadMSP]

I have come to realize my biggest annoyance in Frontlines is dragoons. I can't stand them. It seems every move they have stuns you. While everyone is going for the healers, I tend to go and knock out the dragoons first.

[Tsuole]

why are we still having this discussion?

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...ard-and-Archer

out of all the classes in PVP, I think it's clear that Bards have the most variation to their state inside and outside of PVP.

Are you saying that this damage reduction isn't enough? Like, max 60% for half the potential shooting ranges? SE has done their best to cripple Bards as much as possible already, thanks to the whining. Now, we even have a useless, un-unique ability [Blast Shot] skills that essentially has a useless upgrade (really whats the point of upgrading damage when it only deals 40%?)

If more people would play Paladins, Warriors or Monks, Bards would be easier to kill. The problem isn't the class at the moment, it's the mentality of people playing.

It's like in League when you have a terrible party make up and your team is whining about how they're loosing.

[tehomegaking]

Bards have the most variation to their state inside and outside of PVP.

Casters have to fight for every cast, tanks function as DPS and have their tanking ability cut down to the point where they hardly represent tanks anymore. But of course bard whos still capable of dishing out massive dps is the most affected because you need to use your brain a little more than before.

Now, we even have a useless, un-unique ability [Blast Shot]

Yeah, an aoe knockback that can both peel for you and your healer (ontop of your other peel) that can also be used offensively in conjunction with silence to almost completly null out equanmilty'd caster is really useless

SE has done their best to cripple Bards as much as possible already, thanks to the whining. Now, we even have a useless, un-unique ability [Blast Shot] skills that essentially has a useless upgrade (really whats the point of upgrading damage when it only deals 40%?)

Do you have any idea how overpowered bards would be without the damage modifier? You need to actually think about how you apply damage, rather than just mindlessly spam from max range safety. Bards have the absolute easiest time out of everysingle class at applying damage ontop of solid burst. Being able to apply full damage from max range, and interrupt every caster AND have silence on top would put bards into an uncontested god-tier status. As it stands now, good bards in prologoned matches in WD reach insane DPS... Ausar reborn sometimes doubles great dragoon/monks damage. This is due to the ease they have with applying damage. You make it sound like bards are useless, lol.